On March 23, 2023, during the fifteenth edition of the Brussels International Women's Film Festival Ellestournent-Damesdraaien, I finally had the immense pleasure of seeing on the big screen the film SILENT GLORY by Nahid Hassanzadeh, of which I am the co-producer.
A film where space and time merge, long shots immerse you in the sound of the wind in the trees, in the touch of the bricks, in the light that is coming and invite you through an external journey to meditate and continue a deep inner journey.
Congratulations to the director Nahid Hassanzadeh who managed to create this magnificent work despite all the obstacles inherent in a film that questions faith in a country lost between its millennial spirituality and the ambient superstition. A necessary introspection in these times of doubt.




Art Cantara is a non-profit association promoting artistic expression and creating bridges between cultures. We organize events mainly focused on the artistic creations of the Southern/Eastern countries to introduce them to the public, in Europe in general and in Belgium in particular.
Current projects:
Photo exhibition: "Unexposed Wishes"
Documentary: "The Girls"
Our film sub-titled in Dutch and the projection in Leuven -Belgium

Celebrating International Women's Month, We are glad to annonce that our project will be hosted by IAWF in California USA in March 2019
Screening of the film
'THE GIRLS"
Sunday, March 3, 2019
at 4 PM – 6 PM PST
3117 16th St, San Francisco, California 94103
Screening of the film "THE GIRLS" & the photo exhibition "Unexposed wishes"
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
at 7 PM – 9 PM PST
Laemmle Monica Film Center (Santa Monica, CA)
1332 2nd St, Santa Monica, California 90401
Screening of the film "THE GIRLS" & the photo exhibition "Unexposed wishes"
Saturday, March 9, 2019
at 1 PM – 5 PM PST
Jordan Center for Persian Studies
1100 Humanities Gateway, Irvine, California 92697
Interview of Fery Malek-Madani in Radio Pooya by Vahid Badii, in Farsi
19 Awesome Events Happening in Southern California This Week
5 design things to do this week
By Karen Bruckner
FEATURED NEWS: Photo / film exhibit brings Iranian art to Santa Monica
International Women's Month Celebration in Santa Monica
This look at the lives of Iranian teen girls shows their challenges, hopes and dreams
Fery Malek-Madani Unable to attend the California March 2019 Events Explained
"Close your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine yourself in ten years."
We are pleased to present the project "Unexposed Wishes": an exhibition of photos of Iranian teenagers around the theme "my dream for the future".
Fery Malek-Madani and her team of young filmmakers and artists animated photography workshops in different parts of Iran with Iranian schoolgirls. Throughout these workshops, the schoolgirls were invited to reflect on their wishes, dreams and desires for their future.
Thus, each student took a picture of her dream, 5 photos of the elements that bring her closer to the realization of her dream, and 5 photos of the obstacles that keep her away, while commenting on each photo taken.
About 200 girls from different cities in Iran aged 12 to 16 participated in the "Unexposed Wishes" project.
The members of our international jury have made a selection of the most beautiful images, which have been exhibited in Strasbourg, Brussels, Berlin, Heidelberg, Vienna, Tehran, Yazd...
After a few sessions across the Atlantic here are "Girls" in projection at the University of Tehran on 26/12/2018.
We were delighted to take our project "Unexposed Wishes" to USA .
Washington DC
- 25 September 2018 6:00 -8:30 pm
Busboyes and poets Presentation of the project on a panel discussion about the sanctions in Iran.
Our panel on the impact of sanctions on Iranian women and the women's movement was attended by an enthusiastic crowd.
The panelists had a chance to express their deep concerns about the sanctions on Iran and how it negatively impacts Iranian women, the Iranian women's movement and those women working in the Cultural sector. We invited those present to attend another event on Iranian women at American University, where the «Unexposed Wishes» exhibition was on display and we screened the documentary film «The Girls», which allows an honest view of Iran through the eyes of a new generation of girls.
- 27 & 28 September 2018 all day long ( SIS ATRIUM )
Exhibition : 40 photos taken by teenage girls from Iran about their whishes and dreams
- 28 September 2018 10 :00 am to 1:00 pm (SIS Founders Room)
Screening of the documentary on a panel discussion on Iranian women
American University School of International Service
4400 Massachussets Avenue-
Washington DC 2016
New York
- 5 October 2018 7:00-10:00 pm
Screening of the documentary
People’s forum in NYC a wonderful space dedicated to art and education was our host for the screening of "The Girls"
The event was fully booked and I responded to the numerous questions of the public. One young female Iranian Student in Phd said « you have to go back to these schools and tell them that sometimes dreams come really true as it is my case. Coming from a small city very religious I would never have imagined to get a scholarship and be admitted in such a prestigious university in the USA...
Peoples Forum
320 West 37th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenue) - New York, NY 10018
🙂 We are so glad to receive our trophy for the prize we got in India.
TV5 MONDE
Aired on
April 17, 2017
ARTE Journal
Aired on
April 25, 2017
DW
Aired on
August 28, 2017
German Television DW reporting on the Green Party in Heidelberg and Franziksa Brantner who was host to our exhibition (min 2:55) in this beautiful town.
24-Stunden-Wien
Aired on September 5, 2017
Wien Television reporting on our exhibition.
Strasbourg 14-23 March 2017
The first stage of our exhibition "Unexposed Wishes" ended in Strasbourg. The photo exhibition of young schoolgirls from Iran as well as the related documentary film "The Girls" were greeted with great enthusiasm by the public.
Art Cantara warmly thanks the support of Mrs Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg in charge of European and International Relations, and Mrs Ulrike Lunacek, Vice-President of the European Parliament.
Brussels 19-28 April 2017
The exhibition "Unexposed Wishes" ended in Brussels on Friday April 29. We had the pleasure of welcoming many people to the opening and screening of the documentary "The Girls", which was also broadcasted in a loop throughout the exhibition. Sunday, April 23, an evening organized in commemoration of the great poet Forough Farrokhzad took place in the exhibition. A nice discovery for many visitors.
The journey continues to Berlin at Tiergartenstrasse 15, in the prestigious Landdesvertretung Baden-Württemberg.
Berlin 03 - 23 may 2017
The "Unexposed Wishes" exhibition in Berlin is over. We were delighted to hear from Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg that this was the most visited exhibition they had ever had in their gallery.
Heidelberg 24 - 28 july 2017
In Heidelberg, we had a fantastic screening of the documentary film ”The Girls” with a lot of questions about women’s situation in Iran. Our host was Franziska Brantner of the Green party who is running for the German federal elections in September. We wish her the best.
She deserves to be reelected. In our world, we really need these defenders of women’s rights, peace and equality.
My wish is that, one day, we have plenty of these women in Iran’s Parliament as well.
Vienna 4 - 22 September 2017
In Vienna, the screening of the documentary "The Girls" took place in the presence of many Austrian and Iranian guests at the exhibition "Unexposed Wishes" in the magnificent hall of the City Hall, Vienna.
We were invited by Barbara Humer, the alderman of the Austrian Green Party.
The exhibition was seen by many visitors who have discovered with enthusiasm the new generation of Iranian women.

Teheran 2-4 october 2017
The exhibition "Unexposed Wishes" was held in Teheran in the Elahe gallery from 2-4 October 2017.
During three evenings, various audiences attended the screening of the documentary "The Girls" followed by debate.
The Iranian public was very surprised by the girls' creativity and their outspokenness in the film.

Yazd 7 october 2017
The exhibition "Unexposed Wishes" took place on October 7, 2017 in the evening in Yazd, in the beautiful Dolatabad Garden.
Under the patronage of the president of the Javadolameh Foundation, whith whom we had worked with the high school girls a year ago.
High school girls, often accompanied by their parents, officials from Yazd municipality, officials from different schools in the city were present and attended the screening of the film "girls".
Parents were very happy to hear from their daughters about their future, and politicians took note of the wishes of this youth.
We were congratulated by the parents and officials of the city of Yazd,
A real recognition of our long-term work.